Visiting the Falkland Islands by a Cruise ship

It’s not often, the Falkland Island’s issues affect holiday choices to most mainland UK people planning a holiday.

In reality, you could actually say that the last time there was an issue was back in 1982, when Argentina invaded the Falklands under their military Junta government.

However, that is over thirty years ago, so why would UK passengers be affected now, so long after the conflict.

Well, unfortunately, Argentina has effectively installed an economic blockade on the Falkland islands, in an effort to force the UK government to hand over the islands, into Argentine sovereignty . Unfortunately for Argentina, the Falklands are self governed and have mandate from the UK to make their own decisions, and without being included in any conversations with Argentina, there will never be a discussion.

Unaccessible land

The problem this causes, is that recently some cruise ships have been turned away from docking at Ushuaia, which is based right at the southern most tip of Argentina on the southern shore of the island of Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaiais the furthest south town in Argentina and indeed the world, which makes it a popular destination.

Recently, the cruise ships, having already visited the Falklands, were refused permission to dock, leaving the cruise company in a position of having a ship full of passengers, and no place to land.

Luckily, Chile has always had good links with the Falklands, and the ships were able to dock in Punta Arenas.

At the end of the day, although the passengers were offered a solution, it must have been upsetting for those passengers who wished to view Ushuaia, and who may have chosen that particular cruise just for that destination, just because of politics. It’s also a shame for the Argentinian locals, who rely on cruise ship business for their livelihood and this was taken away from them.

In the future, whilst Argentina continues to undertake its economic blockade, potential cruises should be weighed up, would you prefer to visit the Falklands or Argentina, as it would appear Argentina are making you choose. Alternatively, you could check that the cruise visits Argentina first, before the Falklands so you can do both.

Further reading on the matter of the ships being refused can be found here and here